United States v. Fitts

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff,v.SHAWN FITTS, et al., Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Debra
C. Poplin United States Magistrate Judge.

All
pretrial motions in this case have been referred to the
undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) for
disposition or report and recommendation regarding
disposition by the District Court as may be appropriate. This
case is before the Court on Defendant Fitts' Motion to
Continue [Doc. 62], filed on June 5, 2019. Also before the
Court are Defendant Bryant's Motion to Continue [Doc.
63], Defendant Thomas' Motion to Adopt the Motion to
Continue [Doc. 64], and Defendant Stansberry's Motion to
Continue [Doc. 70].

The
parties appeared before the undersigned for a hearing on the
motions on June 25, 2019. Assistant United States Attorney
Bart Slabbekorn appeared on behalf of the Government.
Attorneys Norman McKellar and Devin DeVore appeared on behalf
of Defendant Fitts, Attorney Randall Reagan appeared on
behalf of Defendant Thomas, Attorney Tommy Hindman appeared
on behalf of Defendant Stansberry, Assistant Federal Defender
Benjamin Sharp appeared on behalf of Defendant Wyrick, and
Attorney James Carter, Jr. appeared on behalf of Defendant
Bryant. Defendants Stansberry, Fitts, Wyrick, and Thomas were
also present.[1]

In his
motion, Defendant Fitts asks the Court to continue the July
16, 2019 trial date and all other related deadlines in this
case. He argues that a continuance is necessary to give
counsel additional time to complete his investigation into
the facts and circumstances of Defendant's case, and
review the voluminous amount of discovery provided by the
Government. Further, the motion states that Defendant Fitts
understands that a trial continuance waives his speedy trial
rights. During the hearing, Attorney McKellar stated that he
requested the continuance due to the nature of the charges
against Defendant Fitts, as well as the substantial amount of
electronic data provided as discovery. Attorney Reagan
informed the Court that the digital discovery consists of
over several gigabytes of data, including eleven (11) total
discs detailing wiretaps and video surveillance. Assistant
Federal Defender Sharp related that Defendant Wyrick had no
objection to the present motion. AUSA Slabbekorn stated that
the Government had no objection to a trial continuance, and
acknowledged that the provided discovery in this case was
voluminous. The parties then agreed on a new trial date of
January 28, 2020.

The
Court finds the motion to continue is well-taken. The Court
also finds that the ends of justice served by granting a
continuance outweigh the interest of Defendants and the
public in a speedy trial. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A). The
Indictment [Doc. 32] charges that the Defendants conspired
with each other and others to knowingly, intentionally, and
without authority, distribute and possess with intent to
distribute five (5) kilograms or more of cocaine, a Schedule
II controlled substance; as well as the conspiracy to commit
money laundering. The Court finds that defense counsel
require additional time to investigate the facts of
Defendants' cases, to file and litigate pretrial motions,
and to prepare the case for trial. Thus, the Court finds that
the failure to grant a continuance would deprive defense
counsel of the reasonable time necessary to prepare for trial
despite the exercise of due diligence. See 18 U.S.C.
§ 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv).

Accordingly,
Defendant Fitts' Motion to Continue [Doc.
62], Defendant Bryant's Motion to Continue
[Doc. 63], Defendant Thomas' Motion to
Adopt [Doc. 64], and Defendant
Stansberry's Motion to Continue [Doc.
70] are GRANTED, and the trial of
this matter is reset to January 28, 2020.
The Court also finds that all the time between the filing of
the motion to continue on June 5, 2019 and the new trial date
of January 28, 2020, is fully excludable time under the
Speedy Trial Act for the reasons set forth herein.
See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(D), -(1)(H), &
-(7)(A)-(B). With regard to additional scheduling in this
case, the deadline for filing pretrial motions is reset to
October 10, 2019. Responses to motions are
due on or before October 24,2019. If any motions requiring a hearing are
filed, Chambers will contact the parties to schedule a motion
hearing. The Court set a final pretrial conference on
January 10, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. This date is
also the deadline for conducting plea negotiations and
providing reciprocal discovery. The Court instructs the
parties that all motions in limine must be filed no
later than January 13,2020. Special requests for jury instructions
are due on January 17, 2020 and shall be
supported by citations to authority pursuant to Local Rule
7.4.

(2) The
trial of this matter is reset to commence on January
28, 2020, at 9:00 a.m., before the
Honorable Pamela L. Reeves, Chief United States District
Judge;

(3) All
time between the filing of the motion to continue on
June 5, 2019, and the new trial date of
January 28, 2020, is fully excludable time
under the Speedy Trial Act for the reasons set forth herein;

(4) The
deadline for filing pretrial motions is reset to
October 10, 2019;

(5)
Responses are due on or before October 24,
2019;

(6) A
final pretrial conference before the undersigned is set for
January 10, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. This date is
also the deadline for conducting plea negotiations and
providing reciprocal discovery;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(7)
Motions in limine must be filed no later than
...

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